RNS Number:6691L
Camellia PLC
29 May 2003


                                  Camellia Plc

                          Chairman's statement at AGM

                             Held on 29th May 2003



I should now like to take this opportunity to bring shareholders up to date with
developments in the current year.

India and Bangladesh have made a positive start to the year with reasonable
crops and, in the case of Bangladesh, reasonable prices. The Indian tea market
continues to be influenced by the ability of bought leaf tea factories to
produce tea at a substantially lower cost of production than the organised
plantation sector. We continue to look to the Government to ensure that the
Indian tea operations operate on a level playing field.

El Nino appears to be on the wane, although at the beginning of the current year
it contributed to very dry conditions in Kenya and South Africa and crops are
somewhat reduced from those anticipated. Tea prices have also been disappointing
in the first few months of the year, but the main impact on our tea operations
at the moment is the very strong South African Rand, which over the last few
months has appreciated by nearly 35%. The profitability of exporters such as
ourselves whose products are sold in dollars has been adversely affected. The
strong Rand appears to be supported by high real interest rates and until these
rates are reduced it is difficult to see any alleviation of the problem. Also
disappointing is the continuing low price of coffee on world markets, which
presents difficulties for our operations in Kenya. Work continues on reducing
the cost of production wherever possible. On a more positive note, I am pleased
to report encouraging predictions for this year's avocado crop in Kenya, which
should again make a useful contribution to the profits of Kakuzi.

The citrus and wine grape operations in Australia are also continuing to
experience dry conditions, although it is hoped that this year's navel crop will
produce larger fruit which will be easier to market. The SARS epidemic in the
Far East has affected some of the wholesale markets, but has not at the moment
had any major impact on our exports from Australia into the Asian markets.

The strong Rand will also have a detrimental effect on the Western Cape table
grape and wine operations. Unseasonal rain has affected the harvest of table
grapes in Chile, but the prospects for the citrus and wine grape harvest in that
country appear to be reasonable.

In the UK our engineering businesses continue to suffer from a sluggish market,
although some of our operations have secured good contracts, which should be
completed this year. Our cold storage and food distribution operations are still
having to combat increased costs, particularly in respect of insurance premiums
and labour costs.

After an exceptionally good year in 2002, Siegfried anticipates a year of
consolidation.

I referred in my report to shareholders that Duncan Lawrie continue to
reorganise in a manner that will reduce costs and increase efficiency. Duncan
Lawrie operates in a very difficult market at this time, but I am very pleased
with the positive response of the Duncan Lawrie management. I am confident of
their ability to return to worthwhile profitability when more favourable general
market conditions emerge.

Climatic conditions and commodity prices remain unpredictable and make it
impossible to anticipate with any certainty the likely results for the first
half of this year.




29th May 2003




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